Appeal
by Dustbunny3
Summary: [Prism][One-shot][Hirose/Erika] Erika stops by Hirose's house for a visit.
A/N: Man, I suck at crossposting... Anyway! I wrote this for Femslash February. I still have no idea why I was struck with such a strong urge to write a _Prism_ fic, since it's been so long since I read it that I had to reread it to be sure I had the characters' names right. Even so, I'm glad to have given in to the urge because I remembered that I'd wanted to do a fic like this ages ago after I first read it. Megumi and Hikaru are cute, don't get me wrong, but I was more taken with Hirose and Erika's side chapter. I don't know that I actually romantically ship them more than I like them as platonic friends, but I'm happy enough to go along with the former for the sake of this fic at least. I hope you're happy with it too. Enjoy!

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Hirose's heart was still beating a little too fast by the time she was walking back to her room with a tray of tea and sweets balanced in her hands. It shouldn't be weird, probably, having Erika-san visit– they'd been getting closer for months, after all, ever since that day they ran into each other in the book shop. Still, for all that they'd been spending more time together, it was the first time that Erika-san had been to Hirose's place instead of Hirose going to hers. She'd invited herself, too, appearing at the front door like a dream, so Hirose didn't even have time to prepare herself mentally.

And now Erika-san was making herself at home in Hirose's bedroom… Hirose shook her head, stopping in the hall for a moment to try to get her bearings. Erika-san had stopped in for a friendly visit, that was all, because she'd been in the area. Hirose shouldn't, couldn't, let her thoughts wander down the wrong road. She didn't have many friends, even now that Erika-san was helping her to open up more, and her stomach twisted in knots at the thought of getting too close and chasing one away– of chasing Erika-san away.

Erika-san, the first person who'd ever told Hirose that she was cute. Erika-san, who reminded Hirose every now and then that she thought she was cute. That was why, Hirose was sure, that some weak, needy part of her had latched on to Erika-san's friendship and painted a different picture over top of it.

But that was fine, Hirose told herself. No matter what that part of her felt, the rest of her knew better. She could hold out until that part figured it out or died off.

"Sorry for the wait," Hirose said as she shouldered the door out of her way. She settled the tray on her desk and turned to offer a quick bow to her guest in apology. "We just got this new electric tea kettle and I'm still getting used to the settings."

"It's no problem," Erika-san said without looking up from the book in her hands. "I dropped in on you out of the blue, after all."

Hirose opened her mouth to say something reassuring, but then she clasped eyes on the book that Erika-san was leafing through. From the cover, the little stylized female symbol smiled back.

Quite without meaning to, Hirose screamed.

Erika-san startled and finally looked up, eyes wide. She glanced quickly between Hirose's face and the book, then back again. She said, "Sorry, did I do something wrong? You told me to make myself comfortable and it was laying out on your nightstand, so I assumed you weren't hiding it."

"N-no," Hirose said. Her face felt like it was on fire and she wanted little more than to sink into the ground, but Erika-san wasn't treating it as something embarrassing so she tried to follow her lead. "I'm sorry, I was just surprised."

"This looks interesting," Erika-san said, turning back to the book like nothing. She flipped a few pages, hardly glancing at them, then shut the book to set aside. Leaning back on her hands on Hirose's bed, she looked up at Hirose again and asked, "It was one you picked up at the book store back then, isn't it?"

"Y-you saw that?" Hirose's memories of that day spun in her head, rearranging themselves around this new information. "You didn't say anything!"

"Why would I?" asked Erika-san; she looked amused, but there was something hard beneath it. "It's none of my business what you read, is it? After Megumi and Hikaru, did you think I would care?"

"I-it just seemed like an interesting book," Hirose found herself babbling. "Especially after Megumi-san and Hikaru-san– I mean, it's important to learn all kinds of things, right? So, I just, um–"

Shaking her head, Erika-san laughed; it wasn't exactly friendly, but it wasn't cruel either. "You don't have to explain yourself to me. I just said it's none of my business, didn't I?"

"R-right," Hirose said, looking away. Of course it wasn't Erika-san's business what Hirose read or why she read it, of course Erika-san didn't care. Telling herself it didn't matter to her that Erika-san didn't care, Hirose forced a smile and bowed again. "I'm sorry. For making a big deal out of nothing."

"It is interesting, though," Erika-san said. She wasn't looking at the book, still set aside, when Hirose looked again; she was looking around Hirose's room as if taking stock. "You usually go through books so quickly– is this one really taking so long to finish?"

"Oh, no," Hirose said. "I finished it the first time–" She sucked the rest of the sentence back down in a deep breath and held them there, what she'd already let slip ringing in her ears.

"The first time, huh?" Erika-san asked; her attention was back on Hirose almost immediately, though it was so casual that the intensity of her gaze only occurred to Hirose by increments. She grinned and went on, "Do you reread this one often then?"

"Like you said, that's none of your business!" Hirose cried, sharper than she meant to. She stomped down on the urge to apologize again and turned away to stare at the wall. An attempt to fold her arms ended up instead as wrapping her arms around herself as if to ward off a chill.

The squeak of bed springs as Erika-san stood sounded like a warning, making Hirose flinch. There was a pause, then Erika-san padded across the meager distance between them, steps loud white noise in the silence.

"I just thought it was interesting," Erika-san said, far too close and yet not close enough. "It was the only book on your desk that wasn't new. And even though it's well cared for, I can tell that it's been read often."

"Why did you ask then," Hirose muttered, daring to meet Erika-san's eyes for a moment before dropping her gaze to the floor. Louder, she found herself admitting, "I do read it often." Shame crawled hot over the back of her neck immediately and she rushed to justify, "But– i-it's not like I–" the denial stuck fast to the roof of her mouth. Her shoulders hunched up around her ears as though it would block out the alarms that were only in her own head. "I just– I like romance and stuff but boys… I just don't like boys much at all, so…"

"What about girls, though?" Erika-san asked bluntly. "Since you read books like that."

"I don't know," Hirose admitted through a tight throat, but even that felt like a lie. "I think two girls together is wonderful– that being able to find love without boys involved is wonderful– but when I'm one of those girls… I don't know."

"Heh, well," said Erika-san, reaching out a hand but stopping short of touching; her hand hovered close enough to Hirose's face that the warmth of it prickled her cheek, "I'm personally kinda fond of boys, but I can see how they'd be unappealing. And as for girls…"

Surprise and curiosity dragged Hirose's gaze back up to meet Erika-san's and her eyes widened a bit when she saw the way Erika-san was looking at her. There was affection there, so much warmth that Hirose thought she could feel it on her own cheeks.

"I can definitely see the appeal of girls," Erika-san said without shame.

"You… you can?"

Erika-san finally chanced a touch to Hirose's face, fingers sure but questioning. Hirose leaned into the contact, permitting it, and Erika-san cupped her cheek outright. She said, quiet but certain, "I can see it right in front of me."

Their first kiss was a clumsy affair, Hirose pushing forward too fast and Erika-san laughing, not unkindly, before taking her face in both hands. Their second kiss went much more smoothly.


End file.
